I was speaking to a superintendent‘s group in Denver three years ago on the subject of interseeding bentgrass into Poa annua, when a young superintendent raised his hand and asked a question that left me without a response: ―Do I do anything special after interseeding in terms of mowing?‖ he inquired. The question seemed simple enough, but the underlying concepts were enormously complicated. I bided for time as my mind raced through conflicting theories of plant competi- tion in an effort to give him some guidance: Perhaps if you skip mowing for a few days while the seed- lings are emerging, the mower would do less damage to them. …OR… Perhaps by skipping mowing, you‘d let the Poa get too tall, and it would shade out the germinating bents. After puzzling over the question for what Continued, p. 2 “To Mow or Not to Mow…?” Research Fine-Tunes Mowing During Interseeding May 2009, Volume 12, issue 3 Turf and Horticulture Improving Creeping Bentgrass Performance Under Shade: Cultivar Selection and Cultural Practices Managing turfgrasses under shade is tricky for golf course superintendents. It‘s no surprise really: golf courses consist of two plant types, turfgrass and trees, both expected to perform optimally while competing for similar resources of water, sunlight, and nutrients. In this artificial ecosystem, turfgrass growth and development are often inhibited. Shade causes many negative anatomical, physiological, and mor- phological effects on just about all turfgrass species (see table, page 2). However, trees are an integral part of the golf course landscape. Varieties in shade While cultural practices are important to improve any turfgrass species performance under shade, cultivar selec- tion is a critical component. Shade tolerance of cool-season species has been well documented, but there is limited infor- mation regarding the shade-tolerance of creeping bentgrass cultivars. Turf managers have discovered through practical appli- cation that ‗Alpha‘ creeping bent displays remarkable toler- ance to both building and tree shade environments. At the Capuchos Golf Club in Portugal, the practice green was situ- ated in a precarious position between two clubhouse build- ings. As a result, the green receives only 2 hours of full sunlight per day. The superintendent was astounded by the shade performance of Alpha under very challenging condi- tions. At Lansing Country Club in Michigan, managers sculpted a pro-tee out of a thicket of oak. Despite sparse sunlight, the Alpha tee has successfully kept Poa at bay. Researchers at Oklahoma State Univ. examined the dif- ference between ‗L-93‘ and ‗SR1020‘ creeping Cont, p. 2 by Doug Brede, Ph.D. by Christian Baldwin, Ph.D. Continuously mowing throughout the establishment of newly inter- seeded bentgrass produced slightly but consistently more bent cov- erage than skipping a week or more of mowing. Skipping week 2 was the hardest on the bent. That’s likely the week the seedlings were germinating and additional shading was detrimental. ‘Alpha’ interseeding experiment Seeded 13-Sep-06, 3 lbs. seed (15 g/m 2 ), topdressed immediately at 1/2 yard per 2100 ft 2 , dragged in. 2 weeks after interseeding Mow Mow Skip Mowing treatment 6-Sep-07 8-Oct-07 8-Jul-08 10-Sep-08 ---------- % bent ---------- Continuous mowing 23 32 51 62 Skip week 1 23 29 43 56 Skip week 2 18 24 48 54 Skip week 3 23 34 48 56 Skip weeks 1,2,3 21 30 42 57 Skip JACKLIN SEED by SIMPLOT — RESEARCH DEPARTMENT ‘Alpha’ bentgrass tolerating building shade at Capuchos Golf Club in Portugal
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I was speaking to a superintendent‘s group in Denver
three years ago on the subject of interseeding bentgrass into
Poa annua, when a young superintendent raised his hand
and asked a question that left me without a response:
―Do I do anything special after interseeding in terms of
mowing?‖ he inquired.
The question seemed simple enough, but the underlying
concepts were enormously complicated. I bided for time as
my mind raced through conflicting theories of plant competi-
tion in an effort to give him some guidance:
Perhaps if you skip mowing for a few days while the seed-
lings are emerging, the mower would do less damage to
them. …OR…
Perhaps by skipping mowing, you‘d let the Poa get too tall,
and it would shade out the germinating bents.
After puzzling over the question for what Continued, p. 2
“To Mow or Not to Mow…?” Research Fine-Tunes Mowing During Interseeding
May 2009, Volume 12, issue 3
Turf and Horticulture
Improving Creeping Bentgrass Performance Under Shade:
Cultivar Selection and Cultural Practices
Managing turfgrasses under shade is tricky for golf
course superintendents. It‘s no surprise really: golf courses
consist of two plant types, turfgrass and trees, both expected
to perform optimally while competing for similar resources of
water, sunlight, and nutrients. In this artificial ecosystem,
turfgrass growth and development are often inhibited. Shade
causes many negative anatomical, physiological, and mor-
phological effects on just about all turfgrass species (see
table, page 2). However, trees are an integral part of the golf
course landscape.
Varieties in shade
While cultural practices are important to improve any
turfgrass species performance under shade, cultivar selec-
tion is a critical component. Shade tolerance of cool-season
species has been well documented, but there is limited infor-
mation regarding the shade-tolerance of creeping bentgrass
cultivars.
Turf managers have discovered through practical appli-
cation that ‗Alpha‘ creeping bent displays remarkable toler-
ance to both building and tree shade environments. At the
Capuchos Golf Club in Portugal, the practice green was situ-
ated in a precarious position between two clubhouse build-
ings. As a result, the green receives only 2 hours of full
sunlight per day. The superintendent was astounded by the
shade performance of Alpha under very challenging condi-
tions.
At Lansing Country Club in Michigan, managers sculpted
a pro-tee out of a thicket of oak. Despite sparse sunlight, the
Alpha tee has successfully kept Poa at bay.
Researchers at Oklahoma State Univ. examined the dif-
ference between ‗L-93‘ and ‗SR1020‘ creeping Cont, p. 2
by Doug Brede, Ph.D.
by Christian Baldwin, Ph.D.
Continuously mowing throughout the establishment of newly inter-
seeded bentgrass produced slightly but consistently more bent cov-
erage than skipping a week or more of mowing. Skipping week 2
was the hardest on the bent. That’s likely the week the seedlings
were germinating and additional shading was detrimental.